The wonders of Trastevere

A charming walking tour up and down the streets of Trastevere, one of the oldest and most interesting neighbourhoods, or rioni, of Rome.
We will follow  the footsteps of Roman writers and poets along the narrow streets of this unique part of the Eternal City.  It is amazing how it is still possible to imagine what Roman daily life  was like in the past.

Its name literally means “on the other side of the Tiber”.  Since Roman times, Trastevere has been a very crowded, multicultural area of Rome. It was here that business men and foreigners lived and along the river there were wealthy villas such as the residence of Giulia, emperor Augustus’ daughter. Trastevere was also full of pagan temples and of Christian tituli, the first churches such as S. Cecilia, S. Crisogono and S. Maria in Trastevere, situated in the heart of the district.

Trastevere, however, is much more then churches and monasteries, squares, ancient palaces and museums. It is an incredible mix of things: art and faith, traditions and folktales, old arts and crafts and typical Roman dishes.
We will start our tour in Piazza G. Belli from  the famous monument dedicated to the  Roman Poet Gioacchino Belli.

We will then visit the Church of St. Maria in Trastevere and then, continuing in the direction of the old Porta Settimiana, we will walk past the house of “Fornarina”, the mistress of Raphael who decorated part of the nearby Villa Farnesina, the residence of the banker Agostino Chigi.

Opposite la Farnesina is another beautiful building, Palazzo Corsini, that hosted important guests, such as the Queen of Sweden, Christina.
 
Today, it houses the Accademia dei Lincei with its precious  library and gallery that hosts a remarkable collection of masterpieces from the Corsini family, very important was the garden now it is Orto Botanico of Rome.